Senior executive denies knowledge of deal with Valero

May 26, 2012 11:46 AM

ORANJESTAD - Reports in Asian media, in which senior executive Jiang Jiemin denied any knowledge of a deal with Valero on the Aruban oil-refinery, led to much ado on the island. For instance, parliamentarian Booshi Wever presented questions on the future of the oil refinery in San Nicolas.

Moreover, the parliamentarian asked the Minister of Finance, Utilities, Communication & Energy, Mike De Meza (AVP) about a current bid from Brazil.In the article that caused the ado, Petrochina senior executive Jiemin stated last Wednesday that ‘he’s not informed of any deal’ but perhaps the company is looking forward to purchasing the Valero refinery in Aruba. Early May press agency Reuters reported that Petrochina expressed their interest in buying the refinery for 350 million dollars. Last Wednesday the senior executive indicated to focus this year on storage and refining possibilities in North, Central and South America as part of a plan to establish an overseas operation center to boost the trade with this part of the world. Since last year, Petrochina is the world’s largest producer of crude oil. Early this week, Minister De Meza stated that the negotiations between Valero and Petrochina were in the final stage. “Dotting the i’s”, said De Meza. The Amigoe were unsuccessful in their attempt this morning to contact the minister for his comments.

MOU
In his parliamentary questions to De Meza, Wever requested an explanation on the statement made by senior executive Jiemin. Moreover, he requested clarification on the contents of the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) between the Aruban government and Petrochina. According to Wever, the AVP parliamentary party had already received the MOU. The opposition is deprived of information that could be decisive for the results of the negotiations with Petrochina, according to the parliamentarian. Also the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) appealed to the government earlier to provide clarity on the contents of the MOU. KvK-chairman Jamal Mahawat Khan stated at the time that it doesn’t attest to transparency if the MOU is not made public.

Brazil
In his parliamentary questions, Wever also mentioned a company from Brazil – emphasizing it wasn’t Petrobas – had made a bid for the refinery. According to Wever, this bid was not taken into consideration. The parliamentarian wishes to receive more information on this matter from Minister De Meza. Morning newspaper Bon Dia reported yesterday on a possible deal with the Venezuelan company PdVSA. Reporters Nathan Crooks and Daniel Cancel from news company Bloomberg had supposedly made this public.